India - a journey to me

Sometimes first impressions can be misleading. The two nights at Chambal turned out to be a tonic after initial first impressions and monosyllabic welcome. Good craic with an American group on an extensive wildlife/birding trip. They took me under their wing (pun intended) and the rest is history.

The Chambal River is unholy which means it is incredibly clean and teaming with wildlife. A boat-trip with twitchers is incredibly relaxing when one isn’t trying to take photos. They clicked away constantly and exclaiming in delight or despair. They could barely contain themselves watching the skimmers - up there on the must see list apparently! They’re pretty birds, fascinating watching them skim the water, beak wide open. Gharials and, crocodiles basking in the sunshine, huge turtles and plenty of bird life but the dolphin remained elusive.

I wanted to gatecrash the afternoon boat session but went with the original itinerary. Discarded havelis - texture, peeling paint, crumbling bricks and noisy curious children. Stark contrast to the serenity sitting on the banks of the Yamuna River sketching the Bateshwar Temples whilst waiting for the sunset. And how glorious it was when it arrived. Met a lovely couple from Englandshire. She’ll not forget her trip having been bitten by a monkey in Agra! Don’t look at the monkey. Amazing food and great company deep in the heart of rural India. Loved every minute - despite the power cuts.Read more